Be Prepared For The Killer

June 1, 1994|By Indigo

Some people just don't get it.

Parts of south Dade County still have not recovered from the devastation caused nearly two years ago by Hurricane Andrew. Nonetheless, many vulnerable areas on the East and Gulf coasts are woefully unprepared for a storm that could reduce their communities to rubble.

A recent survey conducted by The Associated Press showed that many communities from Maine to Texas would not be ready if they were hit by killer storms. That news ought to cause some sleepless nights as hurricane season starts today.

It's alarming that the people charged with hurricane-response planning in many areas are part-timers who haven't had emergency-management training and lack adequate budgets and basic equipment, such as computers, to do their jobs.

Those might not seem like big deals on a sunny day. If high winds were destroying buildings and killing people, though, such shortcomings would be catastrophic.

Fortunately, Florida officials seem to have learned volumes from Hurricane Andrew. Emergency coordinators throughout the state have been working diligently to update their disaster-response plans and communications command centers. What's more, state and local emergency planners are preparing for a two-day hurricane-response drill in mid-June.

It's also noteworthy that, in the wake of Hurricane Andrew, the federal government has tried to pay more attention to hurricane preparedness. The government's efforts, however, are still too puny.

Consider that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has tripled its financing for hurricane programs, but that brings the total to only $2.8 million. About $5 million in federal money is spent on earthquake preparedness programs.

No doubt part of the reason for inadequate attention being paid to hurricanes is that the East Coast had gone for quite a while without experiencing the full force of such a storm.

Hurricane Hugo, which wrecked parts of North and South Carolina in 1989, and Hurricane Andrew, which ravaged South Florida and parts of Louisiana, were wake-up calls.

Those not roused from their sleep of complacency could be doomed to regret it.